A heroic NYPD detective, more than two decades after 9/11, paid the ultimate price for her work amidst the toxic ruins of the World Trade Center. Barbara Burnette, 58, of Queens, died Dec. 30 after a long and debilitating battle with health issues linked to her 23 daunting days in the burning Ground Zero rubble following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack that toppled the Twin Towers. More.